This summer, Spurgeon College hosted World Changers, a week-long mission trip for high school students, on its campus for the first time. More than 120 students and adult volunteers gathered in Kansas City for five days of service, worship, and fellowship.
Midwestern Seminary President Jason Allen reflected on the recent event, “We were delighted to host these students on our campus. The experiences they shared and the memories they made were substantial, just as the ministry service they rendered.”
Here to Serve
Beginning in 1990, World Changers exists to equip students with week-long mission trip opportunities across North America. Every year, students from around the country gather in select cities to serve their communities.
Grace Sutton, assistant to the dean at Spurgeon College and site coordinator for the Kansas City World Changers mission trip, worked with Kansas City officials and local non-profit organizations to locate three main areas of service for the World Changers teams: Liberty Village Mobile Home Park, Kessler Park, and Platte City.
At the worksites, each day began with a morning devotional. Participants then engaged in a wide-variety of service activities including painting, repairing decks, clearing out honey-suckle, laying sod, and more.
Several churches in Kansas City worked alongside the World Changers teams. While many local church members participated in the service projects, five specific local churches provided free lunches for the teams: Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, Northside Fellowship, The Grove KC, River Park Church KC, and Northland Baptist Church.
After an afternoon of service, participants gathered back at Spurgeon College for dinner, worship, and evening activities.
Spurgeon College Dean Sam Bierig served as the camp speaker for the week. During the evening worship gatherings, Bierig preached through most of the book of Galatians in an expository fashion, focusing on the theme in Galatians of the Christian being free in Christ.
Reflecting on his week of teaching, Bierig said, “It was an absolute joy to walk these students through much of Galatians. We focused on the gospel, the doctrine of adoption, personal and congregational holiness, and what it means to be a disciple in a local church. I trust, by God’s grace, these students grew under God’s Word.”
Church groups met for devotional time after each evening session. Before concluding the evening, students enjoyed late-night activities in the gymnasium at the Mathena Student Center.
At the end of the week, community members and city volunteers were invited to join World Changers teams at Spurgeon College for the Project Celebration. During this Friday night event, Spurgeon College highlighted the work completed at each site and gave an opportunity for each community member involved to hear the gospel.
A Week to Remember
In addition to serving the Kansas City community, World Changers participants were able to experience Spurgeon College’s campus firsthand. Several of these students plan to attend Spurgeon College this coming fall.
Commenting on the joy of hosting prospective students on campus, Taylor DiRoberto, director of Accelerate at Spurgeon College, said, “We were thankful to host these students and adult volunteers on our campus. As they served our city and shared the love of Christ during the day, it was sweet to have this group enjoying our campus amenities and worship the Lord each evening.”
Spurgeon College’s partnership with World Changers provides countless opportunities for participants to not only experience the Kansas City campus and serve the city for a week, but also for continued kingdom work in Kansas City and beyond.
As DiRoberto explained “There are a number of reasons why I’m grateful for Spurgeon College’s partnership with World Changers Student Missions. For one, World Changers has a long and impressive legacy of equipping students to share the Gospel and expand Christ’s Kingdom throughout North America. Partnering with World Changers is directly in line with our vision to train men and women for the kingdom.”
“It was also a joy to see students grow spiritually through a week of service that our ministry partnership provides,” he continued. “Our hope is that the students continue to grow in their knowledge of God’s Word and in their commitment to Christ’s mission in their hometowns and among the nations.”
“We are looking forward to seeing all that God will accomplish in the years to come through this new partnership with World Changers.”
To learn more about World Changers, visit https://world-changers.net
For more information on Spurgeon College or to apply, visit https://spurgeoncollege.com/
